Telecommunication networks have developed from connection-oriented, circuit-switched (CO-CS) systems, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), utilizing constant bit-rate, predefined point-to-point connections to connectionless, packet-switched (CNLS) systems, such as the Internet, utilizing dynamically configured routes characterized by one or more communication channels divided into arbitrary numbers of variable bit-rate channels. With the increase in demand for broadband communications and services, telecommunication service providers are beginning to integrate long-distance, large-capacity optical communication networks with these traditional CO-CS and CNLS systems. Typically, these optical communication networks utilize multiplexing transport techniques, such as time-division multiplexing (TDM), wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), and the like, for transmitting information over optical fibers. However, an increase in demand for more flexible, resilient transport is driving optical communication networks toward high-speed, large-capacity packet-switching transmission techniques that enable switching and transport functions to occur in completely optical states via one or more packets. This technological innovation carries with it a new burden to provision reliable service over these networks, i.e., service that is capable of withstanding link and node failure while also maintaining high transmission capacity. As a result, traffic engineering plays an important role in providing high network reliability and performance. However, given that a multitude of networks operate using various infrastructures and protocols, there is a continual challenge for telecommunication service providers to traffic interoperate transparently across these systems.
Therefore, there is a need for an approach that provides for effective and efficient interworking of traffic across multiple networks.